Dear friends and neighbors,

With just over two weeks left of this 60-day session, I’m excited to tell you that the Senate has hit some major milestones – we’ve unveiled our 2022 Supplemental Operating Budget and passed the 2022 Supplemental Capital Budget off the Senate floor. As Vice Chair of the Ways & Means Committee, I want to share with you how each of our bold budgets make meaningful investments in the wellbeing of working Washingtonians and lead us into a strong, sustainable, and healthy future.

Operating Budget

Our supplemental operating budget puts people first. It strengthens the Paid Family and Medical Leave program, reduces poverty and homelessness, stabilizes K-12 and higher education, improves access to behavioral health services, and invests in renewable energy infrastructure.

Here are two specific investments in our operating budget that I was proud to help champion:

  • $90 million to add nurses and counselors in schools to better meet the needs of students.
  • $100 million to address behavioral health workforce shortages and improve Washingtonians’ access to behavioral health services.

This budget builds on last session’s historic work to build a path toward an equitable recovery for all of us, and makes strategic investments in working families, our schools, and the environment.

Capital Budget

The supplemental capital budget will fund our communities’ priority projects. It provides significant and robust support for efforts on housing, homelessness, broadband, early learning, and climate resilience throughout our state.

Three projects included in the capital budget are particularly important for our community and district:

  • $1 million for Evergreen Recovery Centers residential treatment
  • $300,000 for Interfaith Family Shelter building acquisition
  • $48,000 for community & technical college infrastructure

The Senate passed this budget yesterday with unanimous, bipartisan support! I will continue to elevate the importance of our community projects as the budget moves forward in the House.

House of Origin Cutoff

Last Tuesday was the house of origin cutoff, which means it was the last day to consider a Senate bill on the Senate floor.

Great news: four of my bills – brought to me by our neighbors – have all passed this milestone and are one step closer to becoming law.

From making it easier for Washington’s sovereign Tribes to perform their case management duties, to bolstering spending on primary care and improving the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act, to updating health boards and commission capacities, I am excited to see the real impacts these bills will bring to all our communities. The bills are now under consideration in the House.

Move Ahead Washington

In case you missed it, the Senate also passed funding for a smart and long-overdue transportation package – the Move Ahead Washington transportation package – that will dramatically improve the way we travel in our state and community, improve safety for all road users, and bring good infrastructure jobs to Washington. You can see the proposed funding in Move Ahead Washington for our district here.

Stay Updated

My office is as available to you as ever. Send me an email at June.Robinson@leg.wa.gov, or give me a call at (360) 786-7674. Let’s set up a Zoom meeting or connect in writing. I’d love to hear from you, and I look forward to learning more about your priorities in this upcoming year. You can also follow me on Facebook for regular updates.

My work in Olympia is always informed by the voices of my neighbors, and I’m eager to hear yours.

 

Sincerely,

June